How to pronounce kids in American English
KIHDZ
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Americans pronounce kids as KIHDZ (/kɪdz/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "kids" sounds like KIHDZ.
The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, what turns word-by-word reading into actual conversation. It comes out as KIHDZ.
In real conversation
Hear "kids" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Are the kids asleep already?"
ar dhuh KIHDZ uh·SLEEP ahl·REH·dee
"How are the kids doing in school this semester?"
HOW er dhuh KIHDZ DOO·uhng uhn SKOOL dhihs suh·MEH·ster
"I cannot believe how fast the kids have grown over the years."
ahy KA·naht buh·LEEV HOW FAST dhuh KIHDZ huhv GROHN OH·ver dhuh YEERZ
"The kids are playing in the park across the street."
dhuh KIHDZ er PLAY·uhng ihn dhuh PARK uh·KRAHS dhuh STREET
"The kids need to get dressed and eat before the school bus arrives."
dhuh KIHDZ NEED tuh GEHT DREHST and EET buh·FOR dhuh SKOOL BUHS uh·RAHYVZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "kids" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "KIHDZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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